They don’t justify it usually, they just don’t care. They’re more important than you in their mind.

They don't have to justify anything. They're thieves. It's likely that a large percentage of thieves are also addicts of one type or another.

What does that have to do with anything?

Thievery isn't something you can take your time at. You've got to find stuff and quick. So they're in a hurry, there's all this shit, they're looking for hidden treasures, they're either high or Jonesing. Best thing to do is pull shit off the shelves or walls. If there isn't anything to find, well, you've wasted their time, so they break shit out of frustration

They are savages. Desperate degenerates. They will break a $600 window to steal $3 in change. Society has failed them and now they are a blight upon civilized society.

They don't care what it costs to the victim, only what it can gain for themselves. And yes, damages often greatly exceed the market value of the stolen goods.

Also, some thieves will misguidedly attempt anti-forensics such as hosing the place down with a fire extinguisher thinking it makes it harder to collect fingerprints or DNA. A few years ago we caught one burglary gang who routinely pepper sprayed any area they thought they had left finger prints on, leaving the unpleasant cleanup for the homeowners. Thieves do weird and destructive stuff that doesn't always make sense to someone who isn't out of his mind on drugs.

What do you mean? Is not like they're paying the repair bills. For them, they're in the green no matter how much damage they do. And that's all that matters to them.

I knew a lot of HEAVY dope users (like $300/ day habit) most don't care and just needed their fix. Those that did care might keep a list in this delusional thinking where they think they'l be able to pay it back one day.

Will the thieves ever pay the damages when caught or anything or does the charges get increased with increased damages?

Having written that, go take a gander at the final rebuke levied against King George in the Declaration of Independence, and consider the War On Drugs

Depends on jurisdiction, I guess.

Here in Norway it is customary to file for damages in addition to the punishment, so the sentence may say "two months in prison plus pay X amount to victim A and Y amount to victim B.

The problem, of course, is that they rarely have any money or assets worth anything so there's nothing to recover for damages.

>Here in Norway it is customary to file for damages in addition to the punishment, so the sentence may say "two months in prison plus pay X amount to victim A and Y amount to victim B.

So, usually the victim never gets made whole again?

Never is a long time.

What usually happens is, a government collections agency tries to collect on behalf of the victim and forwards any money they manage to get. Because this is a government service funded by taxpayers, the collection process doesn't cost anything for the victim. They will check for any assets such as property, vehicles, bank accounts etc in the convict's name and collect from that if possible unless the convict pays within a certain time.

If this fails because there are no assets, and if there's no current income to garnish, they put collections on hold until such time as there is something. If/when the thief gets a job or receives other income (including welfare), they'll start collecting by garnishing the wages. They don't take so much that the convict has nothing left to live on, however, as that would only force them to commit more crimes.

The statute on such collection doesn't run out until 10 years and can be extended, extensions are routinely granted. So if the thief turns his life around and gets a job at some point in the future, the victim might begin to receive a trickle of reparation money long after the sentence.

As a practical matter, almost everyone has insurance so the thief ends up owing the insurance company for ever while the victim gets damages covered by insurance.

Here in the Netherlands the government victim collection agency can give you a (limited) pre-payment if they can't collect from the thief within a certain amount of time.

In what way has society failed them?

My dad has a story about being warned not to leave half a pack of cigarettes on his dashboard in the 80s because someone will smashthe window to get it. Who's going to cause that much damage for half a pack?

They don't care about the impact to you, they're not the ones that have to pay to fix it.

Generally a lack of support and opportunites coupled with a traumatic upbringing. Places with healthier communites and more support have less crime and violence

The lecture "What makes a bully" by psychologist Dr. Gordon Neufeld describes the psychological reasons for people finding joy in the misery of others. It's so good I put it on my youtube channel. Very long, but well worth watching.

The tl;dw is that a need to feel dominant, compounded with a lack of empathy, makes people feel good when they can make others miserable.

The lecture describes how these issues arise, and also how they can be remedied. His work is geared towards childhood and adolescence, but the same things happen with adults too.

What is jonesing?

jonesing is when you haven't had the opportunity to get your fix. could be drugs, could be booze, could be food or cigarettes or whatever.

it's the physical/emotional response. you're irritated, you're hyperfixated on your favorite thing, you're angry, you're ... Jonesing.

Jonesing

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